Lettuce, as well as other produce, prior to final packaging is shipped in bulk form in large disposable plastic bags contained in plastic shipping containers. For purposes of reference, a typical container is about 4 foot square. During transport the plastic bags are closed to prevent contaminants, such as airborne dust, dirt and other debris, from coming into contact with the lettuce. Once they have reached a desired processing or packing facility, the bag is opened and the mouth thereof is splayed and the open end of the bag is folded over and around the edges of the container. Tape is then used to secure the bag proximate the mouth to the outside surfaces of the container typically by tightly wrapping several layers of the tape around the outside of the container over the bag.
To proceed with processing and/or packaging, the containers are then lifted and contents thereof dumped into a receiving container at the start of a processing conveyor line. On occasion while dumping the lettuce, the bag is also pulled out of and off of the shipping container and into the receiving bin. Because the outside of the bag, which is potentially contaminated, comes into direct contact with the produce, regulations require the lettuce in the receiving bin to be treated as contaminated and considered not suitable for human consumption. This problem occurs enough that tens of millions of dollars of lettuce are lost each year. Further, the downtime required to remove the contaminated lettuce from the processing line reduces the productivity and efficiency of the conveyor line further increasing economic costs.